Mathieu Charest

Vice President, Individual Insurance Risk Management and Deputy Head,
Global Product and Insurance Risk Management
Manulife

Mathieu started his career at Industrial Alliance in Quebec City working in the Corporate Actuarial department where he focused on individual insurance product and group pension pricing. He then spent five years at Towers Watson in the New York-based International Consulting Group where he worked on all aspects of retirement plan management including the design, financing, valuation and accounting. Since 2010, he has been working for Manulife in Toronto and Waterloo.

Over the last eleven years, Mathieu has driven large Risk Management and Group Finance initiatives, built strong relationships with multiple departments and enhanced quarter-end reporting to senior management while also significantly improving decision making processes. These improvements have resulted in increased employee engagement as well as more effective insurance product launches; both key to Manulife’s strategy.

In 2010, Mathieu joined Manulife’s US Life business, mainly focusing on Asset Liability Management. From 2012 to April 2015, he held the position of Assistant Vice President and Canadian Asset Liability Method (CALM) Actuary in Group Finance Actuarial, managing the CALM process across Manulife. In April 2015, Mathieu joined Manulife’s Canadian Division Risk area overseeing market, enterprise and product risks. Since then, his role has evolved and now includes Canadian Individual Insurance Risk Partner as well as Group Product Risk Management. His role now involves the review and approval of product initiatives, the production of the global New Business Plan as well as the IFRS 17 testing for new business. Mathieu’s job accountabilities have increased significantly over the years, reflecting his leadership capabilities within the organization. As a result of his involvement with the different internal committees, he has coached and mentored many junior employees, helping them becoming new leaders.

Mathieu graduated from Laval University with a bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Sciences. He is a Fellow of both the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. Mathieu also obtained the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2010.

In 2013, Mathieu was nominated for Manulife’s Star of Excellence Award and was an honoree in 2018. He strongly believes in teamwork and the power of building diverse teams. He is the Risk Management representative to Manulife’s Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Council and also chairs a DEI sub-committee within Risk Management for local execution. Mathieu is an avid cyclist and spends his free time with his wife and two daughters.